"Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
the wretched refuse of your teeming shore."

That poignant message of Emma Lazarus has borne bitter fruit, for today you and I stand on the boundary of a new America; an altered Republic of divergent values remodeled under the radar of its busy, distracted citizens.

Wherever tenacious, Illegal immigrants arrive by the hundreds, thousands, millions, wherever they settle in large numbers, the home-grown population moves elsewhere. Communities change, political boundaries change. But there is never an end to it. Still they come. Mostly they stream in rom Mexico, a nation that is blessed with natural resources. A beautiful country cursed with a corrupt government, crime, drugs, and a population who can't seem to will themselves to demand better conditions. So they flock to our states, to our cities, and brazenly, shamelessly, demand we change. So many millions come that they have little reason to assimilate as they carry their culture, their loyalties, their language and their Catholic religion with them. By the dogged weight of mass and a high birth rate they will soon alter our society. Yet, these same illegals marching in America could force reforms in their own homeland if only they harnessed the revolutionary fervor they've shown here.

As it is our southern border stands in jeopardy of being ultimately re-drawn as the sovereignty of our southwestern states is being contested by fanatical Mexican agitators. The strongest nation in the world is being held hostage to the ever increasing demands of a poor, undereducated, and illegal multitude. These "undocumented immigrants" have been encouraged to invade our land by Mexico's government. And they've been warmly welcomed by avaricious U.S. businesses seeking to increase profits at any cost. Suddenly, America is no longer a harmonious nation, but one gripped in the vise of drastic demographic upheaval.

As individuals, illegal aliens can be good or evil, caring or callous, hard working or lazy, but few can be blamed for seeking a better life. You and I, walking in their shoes would likely find it hard to act differently. But these depressed hordes impact our own poor, our minorities, our own hard working citizens, and our legal immigrants.

It is Mexico's president, our president, our own politicians, our businesses, and even we, ourselves, who are culpable. We've been uncomplainingly accepting of the selfish agenda of those who now would willingly sell all of America for $2000 and back taxes from every illegal "immigrant". We've slept secure in the cocoon of everyday comforts, and were unmindful of persistent incursions into our sovereign borders. Now we find ourselves betrayed, our nation in danger from both within and without.

How has this happened to America which has long been the beacon of freedom and opportunity for most of the world's struggling populations? Maybe we've fallen victim to our own advertised success as a nation. But now we must wake up to the harsh reality that our lifeboat cannot hold every needy person in the world. It may sound cruel, but it's the truth. If we maintain that we can take in as many millions as choose to come, prepare for an adjustment in your lifestyle. For the wealthy this shall pose few problems, for the middle class it shall pose some significant problems, for the poor, the elderly, the underprivileged, it shall be a catastrophe beyond imagining.

It is hardly arguable that the entire third world wants to emigrate here. So America must be judicious, it must have an immigration policy that is both equitable, realistic, and just. To which worthy and desperate peoples shall we best apportion a small share of the American dream? Will it be those who are in dire peril in their own lands, those who suffer and hope and wait patiently and dream of a life full of freedom and opportunity? We are open to immigration, but where can we draw the fairest line?

If poverty is a valid criteria we should aim to take more immigrants from Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Chad, Haiti and Guetemala and other poor nations. If we, in kindly conscience, focus on immigrants fleeing harsh regimes we should admit more asylum seekers and "boat people" or religious and political refugees from countries such as Uzbekistan, Cuba, the Sudan, and Sierra Leone. There we shall surely find deserving people of all ages and educational status who are desperate to find safe harbor. Yes, it would be admirable if we could offer shelter to every human being who is suffering or deprived, but we cannot.

In any case, the choice of who are to be our newest citizens may not be up to us. We are now being dictated to by those who have no legal right to be here, by those whose every strident demand is immediately rewarded by our own elected politicians.

Still, in the final analysis, Mexico has done itself no favors by chasing off it's sturdiest, healthiest citizens. Eventually it shall find its own missing workers replaced by those from central America. Unless a rebellious voice calls back the illegal horde to take back the nation that has found them so disposable, unless a national hero arises who will call for an economic revolution, unless their own government reforms to serve its citizens fairly we shall be forced to provide that which Mexico refuses to provide.

Will we eventually have to re-draw our borders? Possibly. What is a nation after all? History has shown that nations cannot to be contained forever within lines drawn on a map. There are no irreversible boundaries. All can be lost by war or attrition.

Can America's destiny change this swiftly, this apocalyptically? If we wear blinders, if we don't care, yes it can. If we assume that someone else will email, phone or write those who should enforce our country's laws, yes it can. When you awake in the morning, be sure to look outside.

"Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"